Back last year, that seems so long ago now, I did my yearly review / preview. During that process my New Moon intentions ritual/plan took place. The Full Moon rose before I woke up this morning. And having prepared, I have hit the New Year in full stride.

That might be a slight exaggeration. I actually went out for New Year, for the first time in for ever, and didn’t get back till yesterday. Since then I have been in slight recovery mode, and have been taking things slow. However, having laid the groundwork, I am not playing catch up.

So what did I put in place? There are four areas that I focussed on

Blog plan

This blog has meandered at times. Well, most blogs go through a meander phase. I wanted to begin 2018 with a plan in place. With blog ideas organised and thought through.

The Creative Minimalist now has its own dedicated journal (again) and has important dates listed, ideas to be realised and series in the pipeline.

I have set goals for the blog. These include unique visitors, indirect income and other social media statistics. All in place by today’s full moon

Setlist Projects

I want to release more music. Writing and performing music always gives me the most enjoyment. I have a habit of not finishing songs though.

By today I wanted to have music projects for a set list of songs I could perform. I seem to have pulled together over 30 songs that I want to finish, record and set free. That setlist might be a little long, but I can trim it over the next couple of weeks.

Even though the list is long I achieved the goal. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll see if I can trim it down. That’s one of the steps in my ‘moon’ ritual. The Full Moon marks the putting the goals into action and the next two weeks, before the next new moon, let me adjust and tweak.

waoao promotion

Income is a must if I am to survive. My freelance work needs a boost as I have let things slip. I have been working on my freelance website. I still have a couple of pages to update, and again that will be over the next couple of weeks. The basic structure is ready.

PLAnarchy update

My Etsy store has plenty of interest, I need to turn the interest into sales. To get more sales the store needs an update. It needs better photos, descriptions and more content. New content is planned and I have a list of things to change.

Along with the freelance promotion, this will be my priority over the next couple of weeks.

This moon ritual has been a success, or at least this half of it. Let’s see how things go and I hope the New Year is going well for you so far?

I’d like to take this opportunity to have a little word. This year marks your 18th birthday. You have, as we believe in the west, come of age. 21st Century, this year you become an adult.

As an adult, there are a few things I feel we ought to point out. But first, a few congratulations are in order.

At times we didn’t think you’d make it. There have been some worrying times, especially recently. But then I suppose all teenagers express themselves in different ways, rebelling against the perceived wisdom of the day and exploring possibilities for yourself. After all, the years preceding adulthood are when you ‘find your own path’ and begin to discover exactly who you are. Personally, I would have preferred a little less independence with your decisions, bridges once burned aren’t easily repaired. As you head into adulthood, being independent is what it is all about, but we don’t live isolated to others unless you are a complete hermit and don’t want to do anything… We haven’t had one of those in the family since that weirdo 0, but we’ve pretty much erased that one, going from 1 BC to 1 AD, or 1 BCE to 1 CE if you are more academically inclined.

However, congratulations where they are due. You’ve found your way through your early formative years, learnt along the way and despite, what many of us feel were essentially emotional, rather than fact-based, decisions of recent times we find ourselves here. You’ve made it. You’re (20)18.

So adulthood eh? It’s time to take on full responsibility for yourself. All actions you make are down to you now. No one else can answer for what you decide and do. You can blame your upbringing and things that have happened before, but you will still be responsible. You will have to pay the piper if that particular musician comes a calling.
And that applies to decisions you have made in the past. If they come back to bite you, you are the one who will be bitten, no one else. At the same time, if you have made the right choices, then you will reap the benefits.

Now you are an adult, it’s time to make real long-term friends. Find those who will stand by your side when times are rough, who will always look out for you and who are always there to lend a helping hand. Normally you find those friends by offering the same sort of relationship, but you can always be flexible when nasty things hit any sort of fan. If they cry foul there are always some clever diplomatic options to explore.

So 2018, well done, we’re proud of you. We might not have been the best example as you were growing up, but the ball, as they say, is now in your court.

Our one hope is that you’ll leave the world in a better state than you found it… all the best 2018, Happy Birthday and welcome to the adult world.

It’s the darkest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere). It’s the Winter Solstice. From now on, things can only get brighter. There will still be rain. There will still be shadows and dusk and nightfall. But we know that things are changing. The wheel of the year turns on.

The Ursids Meteor shower will speckle the dark night sky. Just after midnight will see the most shooting stars being flung across the night sky. It’s only a minor meteor shower, but symbolically, at this time, it is the beginning. Time to make a wish.

Mercury Retrograde is about to end. Plans can be put into motion. Once again the heavens are moving in the right direction. It’s a visual change. There is no astrological reason to wait now. Time to act.

Hanukkah (12th – 20th) has just passed. A celebration marked by the lighting of candles. It is a shame that the focal reason for the celebration is embroiled in political turmoil. However, if the Winter Solstice can teach us anything it is that light can follow the darkest of times.

Christmas Day is just around the corner. The day chose to represent and celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who was called the Christ, the light of the world. Time to share peace on earth.

And finally, I come to the end of my Advent journey of review and preview. I have my word for 2018: embrace. I am preparing my goals for the new year. I will be ready for the next full moon.

This past year, and the previous few years, have been dark times for me. I have been through a lot. Emotionally I have been up and down, with an emphasis on down. I am not where I thought I would be at this time in my life. However, I am seeking a way for a brighter future. Like the daylight cycle the earth goes through, so our lives travel through varying amounts of light. I pray that my way ahead becomes brighter.

And more importantly, I wish you a brighter path ahead. Whatever you believe or have faith in, whatever tradition you follow, whether you are humanist or fideist, may you be blessed this Winter Solstice.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted a word for 2018. I set out with the intention of choosing one. Then I hit the doubt wall. I got stuck in a focus loop. A word to focus on can bring focus. A word for 2018 would bring me focus for the year. I need to focus because I so often lack it. focus as a word is a bit of a cop-out though.

I almost went with transition, or its variant transit. In the end, I thought that was just a little too transient – sorry, couldn’t resist that.

There were others as well, balance, journey and many more of a similar nature. One very strong possibility was rewild. I am really inspired by George Monbiot’s Feral (Affiliate link). Going into 2018 I want to explore some of the ideas, or rather, the philosophies in the book with regard to my spiritual journey and how I approach journaling. For a while both of those words were potentials, but I felt they didn’t really encompass everything I wanted to do.

In 2017 I have done things I didn’t think I could do. I started in 2016, but a few hiccups made it an abortive process. I want to continue to achieve what I can. Doing new things, stepping out of my comfort zone and not putting off things ‘just because’ or losing … erm, well, focus.

So back to focus and my lack of. It is down to concentrating too much on the future. I dream of the future, I imagine what it could be like and I lose myself wondering how to get there. Basically, I struggle with the here and now, and yes there are a few of us out there. It’s far too easy to blame the writer in me, imagining unknown worlds and bringing them into being on the page. I wouldn’t mind if the writer was focused and didn’t put things off, but he does!

I want a word that captures the moment. I want a word that doesn’t sound like management speak. I want a word that speaks of enjoying and wanting and being part of the ‘moments’.

In the end, as my word for 2018, I chose…

Embrace

I like the way it is warm and friendly toward everything I apply it too. It is a positive act. It is an extrovert type word (well, for me) and for this introvert that is good. It is a long way from management speak and, although a little liberal/hippie/Buddhist that’s no bad thing, and I think there is little better for me than to embrace the moment this next year.

So as I step into 2018 I can:

Embrace finishing projects

Embrace feral spirituality

Embrace relationships

Embrace stepping out of my comfort zone

Embrace asking others

Embrace the difficult situations where I find myself (vocational and personal)

Embrace challenges

Embrace what I can’t change

Embrace the changes I can make

And, of course,

Embrace this life I have been given

This past year I have taken chances and said yes instead of no. In 2018 I intend to take more and I will embrace each and every one.

I woke to the sound of the new Moon. It was calling me to make my intentions. There was a moment of interaction between technology, the cosmic dance of the universe and a little esoteric dreaming.

My phone alarm went off at the same time as the calendar app told me the New Moon had risen (in my neck of the woods). Now I am awake and it is time to dream, to plan and make my intentions. I have tried and often failed, to keep a moon cycle going this year. I plan on the New Moon and the ideas should begin to bear fruit on the Full Moon. The idea is good, but the flesh is so often unwilling.

I am doing my yearly review and next year preview at the moment. That is being neatly tied-up and finishing with a flourish and a couple of posts the week. The Winter Solstice will be my finishing point for that. In which case, why bother with the New Moon intentions thing?

When I looked at the date for the relevant Full Moon the calendar told me 2nd January. That is just as the Gregorian New Year gets going. In the past, I often found myself planning my New Year once my head cleared several days into it. Most diaries and journals I start rarely have an entry before the 6th.

Not 2018

I am using my New Moon intention as a plan, prompt and put into place. When the Full Moon comes around, I will be ready for 2018. My yearly review and preview will be sorted and the plans from that will feed into this New Moon Intention.

The New Moon intentions will be my short term implementation of my yearly review/preview. It is the first part of breaking down the big picture plan for 2018. I don’t want to get to the 3rd, 4th or 5th of January and think, okay, so what do I want to do this year. I will be building on what I have learnt in 2017 (my review) and already doing what I have planned.

Despite the Solstice, Christmas and traditional New Year celebrations, I will be ready on the 1st January.